05/17/2013

Thinking Outside The LSAT At Michigan

Zearfoss tells the Careerist that applicant numbers are “dramatically down” on a national level, and down by about 3 percent at the University of Michigan Law School. “I'm very conscious that there are fewer great people in the pool,” she says.

Zearfoss concedes “there's been an arms race with LSATs and GPAs” among top law schools seeking the best students. “I think the shrunken pool has forced admissions officers to think about what we really need in our class, and it's not just the LSAT,” Zearfoss says. “I think we are choosing substance over LSATs.”

The Careerist suggests that “substance over LSAT” is a radical concept. “I don't thinking focusing on scores is the way to go,” Zearfoss responds. “It's not fair to the individual. It's not fair to the institution.”

The comments to the ABA Journal story are entertaining. Personal favorite: "Instead of dropping the LSAT, they should come up with a SHADOW SCORE for the LSAT. That means they would give partial credit for the SECOND BEST answer so as to better determine that the person wasn’t a total idiot."

Comments

Zearfoss tells the Careerist that applicant numbers are “dramatically down” on a national level, and down by about 3 percent at the University of Michigan Law School. “I'm very conscious that there are fewer great people in the pool,” she says.

Zearfoss concedes “there's been an arms race with LSATs and GPAs” among top law schools seeking the best students. “I think the shrunken pool has forced admissions officers to think about what we really need in our class, and it's not just the LSAT,” Zearfoss says. “I think we are choosing substance over LSATs.”

The Careerist suggests that “substance over LSAT” is a radical concept. “I don't thinking focusing on scores is the way to go,” Zearfoss responds. “It's not fair to the individual. It's not fair to the institution.”

The comments to the ABA Journal story are entertaining. Personal favorite: "Instead of dropping the LSAT, they should come up with a SHADOW SCORE for the LSAT. That means they would give partial credit for the SECOND BEST answer so as to better determine that the person wasn’t a total idiot."